How to Build a Mobile Tourism Calendar to Market Events

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3SCsoGoOPZs | First in a series on Mobile travel Technology: This white paper describes the process of building the Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia events calendar. Its an overview of the mobile technology of www.WhatsOnInBarbados.com, the Calendar of things to do in Barbados. Used by Travelers and locals looking for restaurants, events, festivals, music shows, and tours

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Project BackgroundWhat’s On In Barbados began as a section of the http://Barbados.org website from as far back as1997, highlighting the top events taking place in the Caribbean island of Barbados including theannual jazz festival, Holders Season of theatre, opera and drama, Crop Over summer carnival,and the winter Open Houses and Open Gardens programmes. The calendar was primarily de-signed for and used by visitors to the island.Over the years Axses recognized that visitors to the island were increasingly interested in morethan just the major island festivals. In particular long stay visitors known as ‘snowbirds’, who stayon the island for several months between December and April to escape the cold at home,wanted to attend local events on a regular basis. Barbadians too were turning to the Web to ﬁndout what events were taking place on the island.In July 2010, Axses began distribution of the What’s On In Barbados weekly newsletter. From aninitial subscriber base of 4,000 subscribers the newsletter has grown to 16,000 subscribers -comprising locals and visitors. The newsletter is eagerly awaited by subscribers each Thursdaymorning and it is actively used to plan weekend and vacation activities!Newsletter archive:http://www.icontact-archive.com/cm/cO_IP76CIhvABwBBxKHo7oEJRTVWDoDq34q5MeqNgYypemGjhJdP-A==?w=3In December 2011, Axses relaunched the What’s On In Barbados website. New features includedan improved user interface, extensive search capabilities (by event name, event category andsubcategory, by day, and by month), photos and other media, and mapping.Acknowledging the reach of social media, What’s On In Barbados’ next technology release was aFacebook app and page. The page highlights a special event each day, delivering that event di-rectly to fans timelines. The app gives complete access to each day’s events and is installed onmany pages within Facebook including those of local hotels:https://www.facebook.com/WhatsOnInBarbados/https://www.facebook.com/YellowBirdBarbados/app_186042386260https://www.facebook.com/PeachAndQuietBarbados/app_253849921328065https://www.facebook.com/BarbadosBeaches/app_253849921328065https://www.facebook.com/pages/Palm-Garden-Hotel-Barbados/163990416972262The next logical step was the creation of a mobile app that would allow users to quickly accessthe events calendar while on the go.B A R B A D O S T O U R I S M E N C Y C L O P E D I A! M o b i l e C a l e n d a r s f o r To u r i s m 1

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see details, save booksearch for events & attractions by type name get directions view locationsdate etcTechnologyThe initial goal was to launch a mobile app for the Blackberry platform, given the popularity of thatmobile OS in the local market. However as the project lifecycle progressed the Android platformbegan to emerge as the platform of choice in both the smartphone and tablet markets.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system#Market_shareAxses has always been as an agile company and quickly shifted its focus from the Blackberryplatform to a more device-agnostic approach that would use a one-development, multi-packagingstrategy to deliver apps to multiple platforms.This approach utilized HTML5 and the jQuery mobile touch-optimized framework in conjunctionwith PhoneGap Build. This methodology leveraged the existing web development skills of the pro-ject team to create a core app that could be easily packaged to target multiple platforms includingiOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, webOS and Symbian.B A R B A D O S T O U R I S M E N C Y C L O P E D I A! M o b i l e C a l e n d a r s f o r To u r i s m 2

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While the single codebase was a huge step towards increased productivity and ease of develop-ment it was recognized by the project leader that wherever possible native features should beincluded to creative an experience most familiar to users on their respec-tive platforms.An example of this is the application date picker. While a standard widgetcan be used across multiple platforms, the decision was taken to includean Android-style widget for the initial release of the Android app.The initial release of the app targeted the Android platform, while alsoincluding WebOS, Symbian and Windows Phone. Within the ﬁrst 2weeks of release, the What’s On app has been installed nearly 50 timesvia the Google Play app store and is steadily making its way up the list ofBarbados apps.The iOS and Blackberry versions will be released in January 2013.Ease of UseAny mobile app needs to be intuitive and fast. A hallmark of the jQuery mobile framework is itslightweight code and consistent design, making it the perfect technology match for this applica-tion.This framework is used by a number of high proﬁle companies including Ikea and Disney Worldand by educational institutions such as Stanford University.The app uses progressive enhancement and responsive web design to adapt to users devices,orientations and screen resolutions delivering an optimal experience on phones, tablets and e-readers. For example on smaller smartphone devices, several icons are removed from the screenleaving room for more critical event information.The user interface is relatively simple, aimed at getting users quickly to the information that theywant and need on their mobile. The app supports a browse-type experience with lists of dailyevents and highlighted monthly featured events. For users who know the type of events they wantto research there are friendly search features by event name and by event type (sports, arts, mu-sic, food and drink, etc.).jQuery mobile was again a help in this regard as it uses CSS3 properties such as text-shadowand gradients to produce a polished, custom branded interface that is consistent with expecta-tions of mobile users.ContentIn addition to being fast and easy to use, any successful mobile app must have decent content.‘Content is king’ is still true! This is where the What’s On In Barbados mobile app really standsB A R B A D O S T O U R I S M E N C Y C L O P E D I A! M o b i l e C a l e n d a r s f o r To u r i s m 3

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out. The calendar is updated daily and anychanges and additions to the calendar’s databaseare immediately accessible in the app.To source event information the What’s On In Bar-bados content manager maintains close ties withentertainers, event promoters and managers of lo-cal entertainment venues. The press, TV, radio andsocial media are also carefully researched daily toidentify suitable activities and add them to theWhat’s On calendar.Event promoters often submit their events directly tothe What’s On editor, either directly via e-mail orthrough the online event submission form athttp://whatsoninbarbados.com/whatsoninbarbados-submit.phpFuture EnhancementsTechnology is changing and improving at a furious pace. Android has surged to 75% of thesmartphone OS market in the 3rd quarter of 2012; expect Apple to ﬁghtback with improved prod-uct offerings in 2013; while Blackberry is losing marketshare its instant messaging service andenterprises services are strong worldwide; and Windows is the latest player to make a seriouspush in the mobile space with the release of Windows Phone 8.User expectations of mobile apps will also continue to increase as mobile bandwidth becomescheaper and WiFi connections more accessible worldwide.What’s On In Barbados app will continue to be upgraded to keep pace with these changes.Technology licensesThe platform is cloud based and integrates the desktop with multiple mobile systems and devices. The entireplatform may be licensed and integrated with any website or travel portal. for more information contact us:Document by Kathy-Lynn Ward, COO Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia.Contact 246 429 2653B A R B A D O S T O U R I S M E N C Y C L O P E D I A! M o b i l e C a l e n d a r s f o r To u r i s m 4